Tampon applicator



c. A; FOURNESS TAMPON APPLICATOR Filed Sept. 26, 1946 Patented Aug. 9, 1949 TAMPON APPLICATOR.

Charles A. Fourness, Appleton, Wis, assignor to International Cellucotton Products Company, a corporation of Delaware.-

Application September 2.6, 1946,.Serial'No..699,375

This invention relates to improvements in a tampon applicator, such as is adapted for use in inserting catamenial tampons into the vaginal opening.

The main objects of the invention are to provide a tampon applicator embodying certain interfitting-parts', and which parts may be made to properly interfit without the exercise of a high degree of care to produce accurately sized parts; to provide a tampon applicator embodying a pair of interfitting parts which may be made of inexpensive materials and by automatic machinery so that they may be produced speedily, economically and at low cost; to provide a tampon applicator' embodying interfitting parts which may be quickly and easily assembled in operative relation to a tampon; and, in general, it is the object of the invention to provide an improved tampon applicator.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be understood by reference to the following specification and accompanying drawing wherein there is illustrated a tampon applicator embodying a selected form of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective illustrating the complete device;

Fig. 2 is, in part, a side elevation and, in part, a longitudinal section through the applicator; and

Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig, 4 is a more or less diagrammatic cross section illustrating certain details of construction of a part of the improved device.

The tampon applicator shown in the drawing comprises an outer tampon holding tube I which may be of spirally wound or other suitable construction, preferably made of a suitable grade of paper. In Fig. 2 the tube I is illustrated as being of two-ply construction, the thickness of the tube being suitably exaggerated for purposes of illustration. The thickness of the tube need only be suflicient to supply a suitable degree of stiffness to the tube.

In the forward end portion of the tube I there is seated a tampon 2 which may be of any selected construction. For the purpose of this application, the tampon is illustrated as consisting of a cylindrical body enclosed in a knitted wrapper which has a rear end extension 3 constituting a draw string. The tampon 2 fits snugly within the forward portion of the applicator tube I so that it will not slide out of the tube without the application of at least a slight amount of force to push the tampon out of the tube.

For ejecting the tampon from the holding tube, it has been a common expedient to employ a second tube which would fit snugly within the outer tube I. Such ejector tube has been made 1 Claim. (Cl. 128-263) 2 to conform in cross section to the outer tube and considerable difficulty has been experienced in maintaining both the inner and outer tubes accurately to a predetermined size so that the tubes would interfit with sufficient friction .to prevent accidental dropping out of the ejector tube from the rear end portion of the outer tube. It may be observed that the tubes, being made of fibrous material such as paper, are subject to some change in size due to varying atmospheric conditions so that even though the tubes are initially properly interfitted, they may. later become so loose that they fall apart or even so tightly interfitted that they cannot be. properlyoperated to eject the tampon.

The improved ejector herein shown consists of an elongated tubular member 4 of more or less crescent shaped cross section. It may be formed from an initially round tube, one longitudinally extending side portion of which is folded inwardly to produce the concave wall 5 of the crescent shaped ejector. Somewhat less than one-half the circumference of the tube may be folded inwardly as shown so as to cause the other side portion of the tube to be expanded or spread somewhat to a larger radius. The wall portion 5 will, as shown in Fig. 4, require the opposite wall portion 6 to expand substantially when the wall portion 5 is in a flat condition. The wall portion 5 is, however, bent inwardly so as to cause it to assume the concave form mentioned, which permits some contraction of the expanded wall 6 to occur. The contraction is not, however, sufficient to cause the maximum or effective transverse dimension of the wall portion 6 to resume its initial size so that insertion of the ejector into the outer tube I requires a slight amount of transverse compression of the ejector tube. The ejector tube being made of a suitable grade of paper is inherently resilient to an extent which is sufficient to cause the ejector tube to yieldingly resist such compression so that when the ejector is inserted into the end portion I of the tube I, as shown in Fig. 2, it will, when released, expand into a snug frictional fit within the outer tube I.

Because of the transverse resiliency of the described ejector, it is adapted to fit within the outer tube I notwithstanding considerable variation in size of the latter. Furthermore, any changes in size of either the outer tube I or the ejector, due to atmospheric conditions, will not be great enough to cause either sticking of the ejector in the tube I nor such loosenessof the ejector in the tube I as to permit accidental separation thereof.

The improved form of ejector is advantageous also in respect of the assembling of the ejector with the tampon loaded tube I. With the conventional round ejector tube, it has of course been necessary to thread the draw string of the tampon through the ejector tube. With the improved construction above described, the relatively difficult operation of threading the draw string through the tube is eliminated since the draw string merely assumes a position on the outside of the crescent shaped ejector. Hence, it is only necessary to push the draw strin to one side with the end of the ejector tube when it is being inserted in the outer tube 1.

The described paper tube elements of the improved tampon applicator maybe made by automatic tube winding and cutting machinery and the collapsing of the ejector tube may likewise be automatically efiected by suitable equipment designed for that purpose. Hence the parts of the improved applicator are such that they may be made at high speed and at low cost in respect of both material and labor.

. Changes in the described construction may be made While retaining the principles of the improved construction.

I claim:

A tampon-and applicator therefor comprising an elongated tubular holder, a tampon seated in one end portion of said holder, and an elongated tubular ejector having a portion disposed within the other end portion of said holder and a portion projecting beyond the end of said holder end portion to facilitate manual movement of the ejector lengthwise into the tube to eject the tam- Don, said ejector having longitudinally extending portions of its cross-section respectively constituting guide and pusher portions, said guide portion conforming in external cross section to and having face-to-face engagement with the inside of a substantial portion of the cross section of said holder, and said pusher portion being 01T- set inwardly from the holder, said ejector said guide and pusher portions being transversely flexible and resilient so as to be contractible transversely to facilitate introduction of the ejector into the holder and being self-expandin within said holder to attain said face-to-face engagement, whereby frictional, ejector-retaining contact is attainable between holders and ejectors throughout a range of different transverse size relationships between such holders and ejectors.

CHARLES A. FOURNESS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,024,218 Haas Dec. 1'7, 1935 2,355,917 Knight Aug. 15, 1944 2,391,343 Popper Dec. 18, 1945 2,416,642 Popper Feb. 25,1947 

